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Face Recognition worries Microsoft boss

Today, face recognition is quite common: we find it among other things as a lockup mechanism on smartphones and as a tool on Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram for image tagging and face filters.

The CEO of Microsoft now expresses concern about such technology and believes that it can create awkward situations in a few years when technology is further developed and made easier.

No privacyDuring a conference in Lisbon on Wednesday, CEO Brad Smith was open about what he thought were challenges we humans can experience in the years to come.

Smith describes a scenario that is almost constantly monitored: Stores have an overview of when you last visited, how often you have been, what you were interested in and what you eventually ended up buying products.

Monitoring from the authoritiesAnd it's not the worst thing Smith believes, what's even worse comes into the picture when considering the consequences if the technology is used by authorities in a country that almost gets a full overview of its citizens.

Smith says, for the first time, we are on technology that, with today's development, is on its way to giving the authorities the opportunity to follow anyone, anywhere.

The Microsoft boss draws parallels to the 1984 book and urges that you should be aware of the kind of regulations needed when the technology really establishes.

Closes Apple Music Connect permanently

Yesterday Apple announced that their Apple Music Connect platform is in an ending process, where the company plans to shut it down, not unlike what happened in 2012 with Ping with similar functionality in iTunes.